Schools as Colonizers

“To a very great degree, school is a place where children learn to be stupid.”

—John Holt, How Children Fail

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Some of the most radical and free-thinking educational critics of the 20th century said that we go to school to “be instructed on our own inferiority.” Schools As Colonizers examines the problems of institutionalized education from the vantage of the 1960s and 70s most eloquent voices: John Holt, Ivan Illich, Paul Goodman, Jonathan Kozol, Herb Kohl and George Dennison.

Schools As Colonizers describes how these critics saw learning: as pleasurable, spiritually-driven and central to a whole and intact human life. It analyzes how institutionalized schooling disrupts this basic pleasure, and how this discourse has been lost in subsequent educational reforms.

Schools As Colonizers makes the claim that after intense marginalization for over 40 years, in the post-NCLB era, these critics’ views on education are more important than ever.

About The New Book

When school leaders are stressed, their tensions radiate to their staff. When teachers are stressed, their students reap the turbulent ripples. When students’ brains are stressed, optimal learning is unlikely. This book offers inspirational and practical advice to school leaders for calming their waters and spawning ripples of clarity and serenity throughout the school pond.
—Jay McTighe, Co-author, the Understanding by Design® series

Leadership of any sort is demanding work, and nowhere more so than in our schools. What do school leaders need if they are to lead well? Technical knowledge and skill, of course. But equally critical to good leadership is a capacity for "mindfulness" which helps leaders see more clearly what's going on around and within them so they can navigate complex terrain without getting lost. This important book—beautifully written, illustrated with case studies, and full of practical guidance—can help school leaders find their bearings in ways that allow them to serve the urgent needs of teachers, students and the larger society.
—Parker J. Palmer, author of "Healing the Heart of Democracy," "The Courage to Teach," "A Hidden Wholeness" and "Let Your Life Speak"

A “must-get” book for school leaders looking for help to handle the daunting stress of their work. Brimming with hope and practical advice, this inspiring book combines fascinating portraits of real leaders with down-to-earth mindfulness practices that work. Brown and Olson—longtime practitioners of mindfulness, seasoned coaches and wise observers of the education scene—offer balm for the soul of school leaders who today are giving their all to realize their dreams.
—Jerome T. Murphy, Howe Research Professor of Education, Dean Emeritus, Harvard Graduate School of Education.